HAMPTON BOADS CONFERENCE. 518 HANAU. Davis, Rise and Fall of the Confederate Govern- ment, vol. ii. (New York, 1881). HAM'STER (Ger., from OHG. hamstero, weevil; possibly borrowed from Lith. staras, hamster). A burrowing gregarious rodent o£ the Old World, reineseiiting a subfamily (Crieetinae) of the mice (Murida'), and having the trouble- some habits of the North ..Uuerican gophers. The group is characterized by the tuberculous crowns of the molar teeth, by the extensive cheek- pouches, and by the short, hairy tail. The ham- ster (Cricetus vulgaris) is a native of the north of Kurope and of Asia, and is abundant in many parts of Germany and Poland, but rare west of the Rhine. It is of variable color, usually red- dish-gray above, the belly black, the feet white, and large white spots on the sides, throat, and breast. It is larger and of stouter form than the common rat, with the tail only about three inches long. It burrows in dry soils, each indi- vidual making a burrow for itself, to which there are more entrances than one, and which also con- tains several holes or compartments, one of them lined with straw or hay, in which the animal sleeps. Some of the chambers are capacious enough for the storing of large quantities of seeds or other provisions, even to the amount of 00 or 100 pounds of grain or beans, which the animal carries thither in its cheek-pouches, and on which it feeds during the milder parts of winter, spending the most severe part of that season in a state of torpid hibernation. It is a great pest to the farmers, and the object of their unceasing hos- tility; but it is very prolific, and produces two or three broods in the year, 16 to 18 at a birth. This leads, occasionally, to their appearing in countless swarms, overrunning the fields in mi- grating hordes which form a devastating plague until gathering enemies and disease kill them off. The hamster feeds generally on vegetable food, as leaves, seeds, and the like, and is said also to devour small quadrupeds, birds, frogs, etc. It is a fierce and pugnacious animal, and exhibits more than the pertinacity of the bulldog. The skins of hamsters are of some value. There are several other smaller species of the genus, mostly Asiatic, and two other genera in the subfamily, both African. HAN. A Chinese dynasty. It was founded by one Liu Pang, a soldier of fortune (born B.C. 247, died B.C. 195), who rebelled, took to soldier- ing, became Duke of P'ei, later Prince of Han, and after much fighting and many adventures be- came the acknowledged Emperor of the country. and mounted the throne about B.C. 200. The capital was at Chang-an (now Si-ngan-fu in Shen-si) ; but later, in the reign of the fifteenth Emperor (a.d. 251, it was changed to Lo-yang in Ho-nan. Hence the division of the dynasty into Western or Former, and Eastern or Later Han. It came to an end in a.d. 220, when the Empire became divided into Three Kingdoms.' one of which is known as the Minor Han (A.n. 221-204). In all fourteen emperors ruled during the Former Han. twelve during the Later, and two during the Jlinor Han. One of the first acts of Kao-ti, its founder, was to abolish the tyrannical laws of his jiredecessors, and to establish a new code characterized by mod- eration and justice, and in the reign of his succes- sors literature began to revive. In B.C. 91 ap- peared the first general history of the coun- try, from the pen of Sze-ma Ts'ien, the Herodotus of China, whose works covered the period from 2097 to B.C. 104. Two hundred and twelve years later appeared the great dic- tionary of Hiu Shin, in which all the words in Chinese literature — about ten thousand in all — are defined and explained. Early in the dynasty the .Jews entered t bina and established a colony in Ho-nan (see Kai-Fung), and in B.C. 121 silk was introduced into Europe. In A.D. 67 Buddhism entered China under Imperial auspices, and Taoism, under the inlluence of the new cult, began to take on its present forms. The practice of burying slaves with the dead was abolished and clay figures used instead, and it would appear that marionettes were invented dur- ing this dynasty. Though not without internal troubles at times, and a usurpation that threat- ened the continuity of succession, the Han period was one of increasing prosperity and advancing civilization and culture. Consult: Williams, Middle Kingdom (New York, 1883) ; and Giles, Historic China (London, 1882). See Chinese Empire. HAN'AFORD, Phebe Axxe (Coffin) (1829 — ). A Lniversalist minister and author, born on the island of Nantucket. She was brought up a Quaker. She w as married in 1849 : was or- dained a minister in 1808, and has preached with success in Massachusetts, at New Haven, and at Jersey City, and on several occasions has per- formed the duties of chaplain to the Legislature of Connecticut. She has also been conspicuous in temperance work. She has been a voluminous writer, having published poems, es.says, addresses, stories, and lives of Abrriliam Lincoln (1865), of George Pcabodii (1870). and of Charles Dickens (1870). Other works include Leonette, or Truth Sought and Found (1857) : The Soldier's Dauah- ter'iime): The Young Captain (1868); a"nd From Shore to Shore, and Other Poems (1870). HANATJ, hii'nou. The capital of a circle in Hesse-Nassau. Prussia, situated at the junction of the Kinzig with the ilain. 12 miles east of Frankfort (ilap: Prussia , C .■?) . The newer por- tion of Hanau wiis founded in 1597 by Walloons and Protestants from the Netherlands, and with this date begins the town's industrial develop- ment. The most notable buildings are the castle, formerly the residence of the counts of Hesse-Phil- ippsthal and now owned by the city; the old Church of Saint ilary, mentioned at the beginning of the fourteenth centurs'; the seventeenth-cen- tury Church of Saint John : the two ancient town halls, dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries respectively; the seventeenth-century town hall, the theatre, and the house formerly oc- cupied by (he brothers Grimm, natives of Hanau. Hanau is an important industrial centre, and is noted for its gold and silver ware. There are also manufactures of tobacco, cigars, gloves, carpets, paper, knit ware, machinery, and chemicals. Hanau has. near by, one of the largest powder- factories in the world. There is a considerable trade in local manufactures, agricultural prod- ucts, and lumber. The town possesses canal com- munication, and is well equipped with advanced schools and the most modern improvements. In the vicinity are situated the fine palace of Phil- ippsruhe and the bathing resort of Wilhelmsbad, with its iron springs. Population, in 1890. 25,- 029: in 1900, 29,846, mostly Protestants.
